“I’ll have the Amok Curry. Which is it better with; fish or beef?”
“Fieef”, the waitress said.
“What was that again?” I said, "fish or beef?".
“Fieeef”, she replied.
“Ok. That sounds good. I’ll have that.” I said.
I like surprises, and Cambodia would be full of them.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4nVhd2M1GUJHid6qFRl8ucypUeBVpIxf_YibLFYmrtv5cTAJnrDzIIakj8y6-BjAa2Mg_ImqvG64xDCpAu1a_dddo9juQtf37NcGzBDcKY9tVjCSs1L3f3NIezvlEAAHp07pzRa3XN_jt/s400/_0408_1-2.jpg)
One of the big surprises was the Cambodian people. I’d read about how it was not safe to travel at night, and given their war-torn history, I was expecting a crime ridden, battle-hardened, every-man-for-himself culture. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Cambodians are genuinely friendly, honest and have a strong sense of community. If you ask to take a picture of someone, you almost always get a positive response.
Photography Notes:
I brought my Nikon D300, 18-200mm VR and a 10.5mm Fisheye. While that two-lens combination works well when I need an ultralight setup, I would have been better served with a 12-24mm and 50-150mm combination. I pulled out the 10.5mm Fisheye whenever I needed something wider than 18mm (which was often), but the fisheye look gets old really quickly if you use it too much. The 12-24mm would have been better here, and when I needed more reach, it would have been a quick and easy swap for the Sigma 50-150mm out of my shoulder bag. I might have just thrown the fisheye into the bag as well because a fisheye is just too much fun!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFZPVzLv6mKf_ijN55dXb12ag1UFqXT-WGsXRtPLxJycK3q9R6ZVTGGwCAr2ndHQbFuZFZ_p_3-ivS8dsIvZyHUacy1JRrTkus-ovTtUmeM4p97K8hhYRm5uj2mzdkPAiVDv7z6_Z6ryqR/s400/_3008_1-2.jpg)
I did convert some shots to black and white. My visit to the S21 Tuol Sleng torture prison was a very sobering experience, and I felt that black and white was the way to convey that feeling across.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN3LwyiQl-fPn_5czEKE24QbjQ2CwsS4iXnnUYjeztp6fBQArtWXyqGeVtrjoUpgxMxZ8eWVBfHHkQ6b5B0lNvSi_OiGlBRzTapEv_eOni1lGn7Stc-nwUtk1W0tt3S0pjndGzGeDJX5no/s400/_0108_1.jpg)
I couldn’t have made my Angkor Wat sunrise shot without a tripod. A small tripod is certainly nice to have with you, and I brought along the Slik Sprint Mini with RRS BH-25 Ballhead.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBacTAr_t19ygBgxD-xtA9gkiWhDDoE185ZzVytm1Jm2Sx0igdQUxK995p-2GFA_0kpF29RlfMbAO0X9SBps2xDak9ciE59LLz-uWmx44yT_hiU-2cGowJnmPHOFxx8vCcEB3ZeR83SHuS/s400/_0408_1.jpg)
I've been getting comfortable using high ISOs with my D300. For night shots, I've been cranking up the ISOs. I will use ISO 3200 if the shot needs it, but it is pushing it. ISO 2000 yields very good results, and is my current high ISO 'limit'. Adobe Lightroom does a pretty good job dialing down the color and luminance noise.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVofBOZVCkwxMnUiqFrLVUop5pSqW-TKhdob3eq6ThLQ3YE7nFjZZvAITVFeAkik9u75p8sL2q13n8V26rjJEKxemdqfxSr21BgxtzwH7wc8nX93gcDoadjZtNwuxJmqBtYt_OSrJnbZo6/s400/_0708_1.jpg)
And in case you were wondering what I was served that first night in Cambodia, it was beef.
1 comment:
Great!
Post a Comment